Allen Park — A conversation with Lions cornerback Cam Sutton shares similarities to the way he plays the game: Nimble, able to change direction on a dime, and with unmistakable passion.
It’s as if he has a dozen thoughts going on in his head at once, with a desire to share them all at the same time. It’s enough that when you walk away, you’re not entirely sure what was discussed, and you’re grateful you recorded it, to listen a second and third time, to dissect the layers of the rapid-fire chat.
On the field, it’s the opposite. Sutton is a methodical processor, able to slow things down by dissecting the pre-snap clues the opponent left for him on film, breadcrumbs of intentions.
“That’s the intricacies of the game,” Sutton said. “At the end of the day, it’s about timing, getting to certain spots, knowing what routes or concepts beat coverages and how you’re being attacked. You can’t have the same game plan week in and week out, so once you hone in on how teams want to attack you, you understand scripts of games and what opponents want to do.”
Ask around about Sutton and there’s a clear theme that emerges in the descriptors — intelligent, thoughtful, cerebral. Former coach Mike Tomlin, at the league meetings last month, said the combination of Sutton’s talent, intellect, preparation and ability to communicate are key factors that have allowed the player to be a versatile defensive piece, capable of lining up anywhere in the secondary.
But more than having a deep understanding of the various schematic responsibilities within a defense, Sutton prides himself in understanding offense. He’s obsessed with knowing the why. It’s something Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson emphasizes with his teaching, getting his players to not only understand their responsibilities, but the reason the play is being called in that moment, what it’s trying to accomplish immediately and set up in the future.
Sutton believes he sets himself up for success by viewing the game through that lens.
“A lot of guys know the game, but they don’t really understand the game, knowing the why,” Sutton said. “It’s about honing in on the details of why these things are happening, what you see and believing it. When you put the preparation into it — and granted, things are going to happen, that’s part of the game — but you see it, put the time in it, so go get it.”
It’s his understanding of the game on this deeper level that translates into his versatility.
“I’m not just a cornerback, I’m not just a nickel, I’m not just a safety,” Sutton said. “I’m an overall defensive back who can affect the game and be what you need me to be. Don’t get me wrong, if you need me in a stationary role, you need me to play outside, whatever that is, I’ll do it. It’s about impacting the game.”
Within that, Sutton does have a positional preference. While he’s always going to defer to his coaches and the game plan, he loves being on the perimeter, tasked with defending one of the opposition’s outside receivers.
“That’s where the game is at,” Sutton said. “You have a lot going on inside, too. Inside is more about possession. It’s faster. It’s more conceptual. You’re running away from leverage, you’re running away from concepts, you’re clearing out certain things. But now, with the market, where the ball and game is going, you only want to be around that.”
Sutton’s success outside — he held opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 65.3 when targeting him last season — earned him a handsome three-year, $33 million deal from the Lions this offseason. And that’s where he figures to get most of his work in Detroit.
But as offenses have done with top receivers in recent years, consistently putting them in motion and shifting them to the slot or even into the backfield to keep opponents from zeroing in on stopping them, Sutton likes to view himself as a defensive version of this strategy. He wants his alignment to have the opposition second-guessing what they’re seeing at the line of scrimmage.
“That’s the whole manipulation of the game,” Sutton said. “You’re a moving target. If you limit yourself where you can play, you’re limiting everybody. So always keep an open mind, and at least get the work (in practice). You might not be put out there to play the position (in a game), but at least you have the knowledge. Now I know what he thinks, what he knows, what he doesn’t know. I know the position he needs to be in.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers